Greece, Macedonia 'Have A Deal' On Name Dispute

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says Greece and Macedonia have reached an agreement to resolve their 27-year dispute over the former Yugoslav republic's name.

'We have a deal. I'm happy because we have a good deal which covers all the preconditions set by the Greek side,' Tsipras said in televised comments on June 12.

He added that Macedonia would take a new 'compound name with a geographical denominator,' without spelling out the name.

There was no immediate comment from Macedonian officials.

Previous comments from the Macedonian side have indicated that solutions could involve adding a modifier to the country's official name, such as 'Upper' or 'Northern' to satisfy Athens, although nationalists in Macedonian have opposed such concessions.

The name dispute between Athens and Skopje dates back to 1991, when Macedonia peacefully broke away from Yugoslavia, declaring its independence under the name Republic of Macedonia.

Athens objected to its neighbor's new name, saying it implied a territorial claim over Greece's province of the same name, which borders the Balkan country.

Because of Greek objections, Macedonia was admitted to the UN under a provisional name, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Greece, an EU and NATO member, has also cited the dispute to veto Macedonia's bid to join the two organizations.

On June 6, thousands of people protested in major cities across Greece against the compromise, while, four days earlier, like numbers of supporters of Macedonia's right-wing opposition VMRO-DPMNE party took to the streets of the capital, Skopje, to protest against a deal.

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